“I distinctly remember seeing that Trump’s silence order included surrogates saying the kinds of things Trump would have wanted to say had the silence order not been in place. Aren’t they violating the gag order?”
– Lora Premo, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Hello Lora,
The silence order applies to more than just things Trump says. Specifically, it prohibits the defendant from “making or direct others to make public statements” against witnesses, attorneys other than Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg himself, staff and family members of Judge Juan Merchan and the district attorney, and jurors. But the Republican politicians who make the pilgrimage to Manhattan to downplay the legal process are not bound by the silence order, even if the statements they make would violate it if Trump were to make them.
So when we look at the language of the order, the question is whether Trump is being “direct.”[ed]These sycophantic politicians would make such statements, in which case the defendant would violate the order, just as he did in the ten previous violations found by Judge Merchan.
But while these words from Trump-supporting politicians are clearly made in the service of their de facto leader, it is unlike him directing them to make them. This is a hair-splitting distinction, but that’s what the order says. That’s one reason I won’t be surprised if Trump isn’t punished for these third-party statements: Prosecutors would have to prove that Trump directed them.
Relatedly, as I wrote earlier this week, it is important to consider where we are in both the life of the gag order and the life of the trial.
As for the silence order, Merchan suggested that Trump’s next offense could result in jail time (rather than just fines). The prosecutor previously opposed seeking prison time, for fear of disrupting the procedure. As the trial nears its end, the state — and likely Merchan as well — may want to get through the process without addressing this issue.
That’s not a good reason for prosecutors not to investigate the case further, but if it’s unclear whether Trump is on the hook, they can use that as a reason to leave it alone. They still have not alleged that new statements violated the order, indicating that this is the course they have taken. Or they might be willing to allege new violations, but don’t think these third-party statements are enough. They have certainly not been shy about accusing violations in this case.
Be that as it may, the fact that this defendant has amassed at least ten violations of a court order without jail time is its own indictment of the system, which has kept Trump above the law in this regard while others would have been locked up long ago .
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This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
